Canyon Country is a neighborhood in the eastern part of the city of Santa Clarita, in northwestern

Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the List of the most populous counties in the United States, most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. It lies along the Santa Clara River between the Sierra Pelona Mountains and the

San Gabriel Mountains The San Gabriel Mountains ( es, Sierra de San Gabriel) are a mountain range located in northern Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range is part of the Transverse Ranges and lies betw ...

. It is the most populous of Santa Clarita's four neighborhoods.

History

The area was the ancestral homeland of the

Tataviam people The Tataviam (Kitanemuk: ''people on the south slope'') are a Native American group in Southern California. The ancestral land of the Tataviam people includes northwest present-day Los Angeles County and southern Ventura County, primarily in t ...

for over five hundred years, and other tribes before then, such as the

Tongva The Tongva ( ) are an Indigenous people of California from the Los Angeles Basin and the Southern Channel Islands, an area covering approximately . Some descendants of the people prefer Kizh as an endonym that, they argue, is more historically ...

Kitanemuk The Kitanemuk are an indigenous people of California. They traditionally lived in the Tehachapi Mountains and the Antelope Valley area of the western Mojave Desert of southern California, United States. Today some Kitanemuk people are enroll ...

, and

Serrano people The Serrano are an indigenous people of California. They use the autonyms of Taaqtam, meaning "people"; Maarrênga’yam, "people from Morongo"; and Yuhaaviatam, "people of the pines." Today the Maarrênga'yam are enrolled in the Morongo Band ...

. After Spanish settlement, the valley became grazing lands of the Mission San Fernando Rey de España around 1790. In 1834, after Mexican independence, it became part of the Rancho San Francisco land grant centered on the confluence of the Santa Clara River and Castaic Creek. In the 1880s, the rancho become the Newhall Ranch empire of

Henry Newhall Henry Mayo Newhall (May 13, 1825 – March 13, 1882) was an American businessman whose extensive land holdings became the Southern California communities of Newhall, Saugus and Valencia, and the city of Santa Clarita. Life Born in Saugus, ...

, from which is family started the Newhall Land and Farming Company after his death. In 1928, the St. Francis Dam collapsed, suddenly flooding and washing away settlements and people along the Santa Clara River section of present-day Santa Clarita not including Canyon Country. Canyon Country was originally to be called Solemint. It later absorbed the community to the west called Honby. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Newhall Land company's

suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separa ...

developments transformed Canyon Country and the surrounding towns into a largely residential city. In 1987, Canyon Country was one of four communities, along with

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

, Newhall, and Saugus, that merged to create the city of

Santa Clarita, California Santa Clarita (; Spanish for "Little St. Clare") is a city in northwestern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. With a 2020 census population of 228,673, it is the third-largest city by population in Los Angeles County, the 17 ...

Geography

Canyon Country is located on the east side of Santa Clarita, along the Santa Clara River. It occupies roughly the portion of Santa Clarita east of Golden Valley Road, and is bordered by Saugus to the west and Newhall to the southwest. The Sierra Pelona Mountains lie north of the community, and the

lie to the south and east. Both ranges are part of the

Angeles National Forest The Angeles National Forest (ANF) of the U.S. Forest Service is located in the San Gabriel Mountains and Sierra Pelona Mountains, primarily within Los Angeles County in southern California. The ANF manages a majority of the San Gabriel Mountai ...

. Canyon Country lies primarily within ZIP codes 91351 and 91387. The boundary between the two ZIP codes mostly follows Sierra Highway - addresses west of or along the highway are in 91351, while addresses east of the highway are in 91387. ZIP codes 91321, 91350, and 91390 also include small portions of Canyon Country. Due to its location adjacent to the mountainous Angeles National Forest, and its aridity (especially in summer), Canyon Country is susceptible to wildfires. The Buckweed Fire in October 2007 burned nearly throughout Canyon Country and Agua Dulce. The Sand Fire took place in Canyon Country in July and August 2016 and burned nearly of land.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census, the population of Canyon Country was 92,897. 41.7% of residents were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

, 36.7% were

non-Hispanic white Non-Hispanic whites or Non-Latino whites are Americans who are classified as "white", and are not of Hispanic (also known as "Latino") heritage. The United States Census Bureau defines ''white'' to include European Americans, Middle Eastern Am ...

, 13.9% were

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous peopl ...

, 7.4% were

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, and 3.1% were Native American.

Education

Canyon Country elementary school students attend schools in

Saugus Union School District Saugus Union School District (SUSD) is a public California school district located in Santa Clarita Santa Clarita (; Spanish for "Little St. Clare") is a city in northwestern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. With a 202 ...

and

Sulphur Springs School District The Sulphur Springs School District is an Primary school, elementary school district in Los Angeles County, California. It serves the east side of the Santa Clarita Valley, including most of Canyon Country, Santa Clarita, California, Canyon Coun ...

. Middle and high school students in Canyon Country attend schools in

William S. Hart Union High School District The William S. Hart Union High School District (commonly referred to simply as the Hart District) is a school district in the Santa Clarita Valley of Los Angeles County, California. It serves all of the valley's high school students (grades 9– ...

, in particular Sierra Vista and La Mesa Junior High Schools, and

Canyon A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency to cu ...

and Golden Valley High Schools. Santa Clarita Christian School is located in Canyon Country.

College of the Canyons College of the Canyons (COC) is a public community college in Santa Clarita, California. It comprises the Santa Clarita Community College District. The college is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and has campus loca ...

has a satellite campus in Canyon Country in addition to its main campus in Valencia
Charter College
has a campus in Canyon Country, one of three campuses in California (the others are in Lancaster and Oxnard).

Services

Canyon Country is served by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and Los Angeles County Fire Department. The fire stations serving Canyon Country are 104, 107, 123, 128, 132, and 150.

Parks and recreation

Canyon Country is served by the park system of the city of Santa Clarita. Parks in Canyon Country include Canyon Country Park (the largest), North Oaks Park, Discovery Park, Todd Longshore Park, Fair Oaks Park, Oak Spring Canyon Park, and Begonias Lane Park. The city's newest park, Plum Canyon Park, is located in northern Canyon Country on the border with Saugus. The George A. Caravalho Santa Clarita Sports Complex in far western Canyon Country includes a gymnasium with two indoor, full-sized basketball courts, four

pickleball Pickleball is an indoor or outdoor racket/paddle sport where two players (singles), or four players (doubles), hit a perforated hollow polymer ball over a net using solid-faced paddles. Opponents on either side of the net hit the ball back and ...

courts, two

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

courts, two

futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players each, one of whom is ...

courts, and four racquetball courts. The Sports Complex includes the City of Santa Clarita Activities Center (a.k.a. The Centre) which contains rooms for banquets and meetings. Adjacent to the Sports Complex is the Santa Clarita Aquatic Center, which includes three large swimming pools and several water slides; the Trek Bike Park of Santa Clarita (opened September 2020) covering 7 acres including BMX and mountain biking trails; and the Santa Clarita Skate Park. Many city-sponsored recreational programs are held at the Sports Complex and adjacent facilities. It is located along Centre Pointe Parkway just east of Golden Valley Road.

In popular culture

The house of The Crandall family used in the movie '' Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead'' is located in this community. A home here was also featured in the climax of '' Real Genius'', but it no longer exists.

References

External links

{{Authority control Neighborhoods in Santa Clarita, California